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New Owner Spark Plug Gap Question

  • Thread starter Thread starter Shawn Farbman
  • Start date Start date Aug 16, 2017
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Shawn Farbman

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Aug 16, 2017
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#1
  • Aug 16, 2017
  • #1
First time Mustang owner , not new to muscle or fast cars but this is my first Fox Body ! My first inquiry has to do with spark plugs and gap , the car has been painted and there is no sticker on the hood. Using search I am finding conflicting info some say .42-.45 others say .50-.52 . This is GT 5.0 HO engine , convertible. I pulled the plugs as general maintenance and put in new ones , the old ones were gapped at .44 . Now having said that I also noticed that from a stop in 1st gear the car pulls very nice , but once you get into higher gears , there is no pull at all just a slow acceleration , unless you engage the kick down. New fuel filter , new air filter , cleaned carbon from Intake and cleaned MAF , still same lethargic acceleration after 1st gear. This points towards the basics I assume fuel/air/spark so as I travel that road , I wanted to make sure I have gapped the plugs properly.
 

revhead347

Apparently my ex-husband made that mistake.
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Aug 16, 2017
#2
  • Aug 16, 2017
  • #2
What kind of plugs did you put in it? Go ahead and gap them down to .035" and see what happens.

Kurt
 

General karthief

wonder how much it would cost to ship you a pair
Mod Dude
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#3
  • Aug 16, 2017
  • #3
42-45 is good, you got a heavy convertible and an auto transmission, I had a 92 lx vert, they come with a 3.25 rear gear, a little sluggish off the line, a 3.55 or a 3.73 will wake it up a bit. Check the timing, a little advance will help too, 12 or 14° , stock is 10°, there is a thread in the 5.0 tech/how to section that lists common modifications that may help ya get a little more fun in sun.
 
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Shawn Farbman

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Aug 16, 2017
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Aug 17, 2017
#4
  • Aug 17, 2017
  • #4
Thanks for the replies ! It was indeed the timing , it was set at about 7.5 degrees ....I bumped it to 10.5 and it runs much stronger , will try that for a few days and slowly make my way to 12 !
 

cleanLX

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Aug 17, 2017
#5
  • Aug 17, 2017
  • #5
With the stock motor, coil, dizzy and wires I always ran the factory spec... 0.54. and 14* timing... always ran strong.
I don't know why you would run less gap... less spark seems like, well, less to me.
 
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Shawn Farbman

New Member
Aug 16, 2017
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Aug 17, 2017
#6
  • Aug 17, 2017
  • #6
cleanLX said:
With the stock motor, coil, dizzy and wires I always ran the factory spec... 0.54. and 14* timing... always ran strong.
I don't know why you would run less gap... less spark seems like, well, less to me.
Click to expand...
Thanks ! I was getting conflicting info via different spec sheets calling for .44 on a 90' 5.5 HO engine , to others saying .54 .
 

General karthief

wonder how much it would cost to ship you a pair
Mod Dude
Aug 25, 2016
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Aug 17, 2017
#7
  • Aug 17, 2017
  • #7
My emissions sticker says 48-52 plug gap so 54 would not be bad with timing set at 14°
 

Mustang5L5

That is…until I whipped out my Bissell
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#8
  • Aug 17, 2017
  • #8
The older 5.0's has a smaller gap. At some point in the mid 80's, the ignition was improved so that a larger gap could be used. Ideally you want as large a gap as possible unless you are running a power adder. Stock gap for a 1987+ range is 0.052" - 0.056", so most people target 0.054".

Now, aftermarket ignition components, you can probably increase that even further, especially with a EDIS-8 or COP conversion. For the sake of your question.....0.054"
 
Reactions: Nutty 5.o, Mintsick and General karthief
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